Lakewood's new budget raises water and trash rates

The Lakewood City Council voted to increase water and trash rates while also adopting a budget calling for more than $68 million in spending on city government, water operations and capital improvements.

The budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes no cuts to city services, City Manager Howard L. Chambers said in a statement.

The council approved the spending plan on Tuesday.

Lakewood staffers project increased sales tax revenues for the coming 12 months, but the possibility of an improving local economy coincides with city officials' concern that Sacramento politicians will grab as much cash as possible.

For example, Lakewood has lost $7.5 million in anticipated loan repayments the Lakewood Redevelopment Agency would have repaid the city if not for the state law that eliminated redevelopment agencies last year. City Hall anticipates continued losses of $2 million annually for the next three decades.

"What's the impact for Lakewood? We start in good financial shape," Chambers said in a statement. "But the steady drain of funds by the state will have an impact over time and will cause funding problems down the road. We're starting to plan for that financial loss, continuing to be cautious about our spending, and being prudent about aligning what we charge for services with the actual costs we incur for those services."

Lakewood is not alone in dealing with this problem. Local officials across Southern California have cited the end of redevelopment as a financial burden, and Cerritos has also lost out on anticipated loan repayments from its redevelopment agency to its city treasury.

Redevelopment ended under a law that diverted agencies' tax revenues to education and other state operations. Critics of redevelopment accused the agencies of functioning as a vehicle for corporate welfare to favored developers, among other complaints.

Lakewood's new trash rates mean residential households will pay 27 cents above current rates, starting in September. That hike will result in monthly bills of $18.49 for residential customers.

New water rates, as of September, will average $32.76 for residential customers, according to city estimates. That amount will be $2.34 greater than current average bills.

Lakewood's water operation provides H20 to customers west of the San Gabriel Rivers. Golden State Water Co., a private company, provides water on the other side of the river.